With some votes still being counted, the Conservative Party got clobbered yesterday in local elections in the U.K. with municipal officials on the receiving end of protest vote over the Prime Minister Theresa May and her party’s failure to implement Brexit. In the low-turnout elections, thousands of voters even scrawled pro-Brexit messages on the ballot papers rather than selecting any of the candidates. “It is unusual to see a consistent message from those spoiling their ballots, reflecting the growing anger at the government’s failure to deliver an exit from the European Union.,” Westmonster noted.
In a surprise, the far-left Labor Party also lost seats, while pro-Remain Liberal Democrats — who have devolved into a non-factor on the national level — ironically had a big night, apparently at the expense of Labor. The Green Party and various independent candidates also won seats on local councils.
With its tarnished image, pro-Brexit UKIP was unable to capitalize on voter disenchantment with the Brexit sell out and wound up losing seats. Had Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party been set up in time to field a slate of local candidates, however, it undoubtedly would have been a major player.
From the London Telegraph:
“The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blair’s humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago as they lost 1,269 council seats.Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a devastating voter backlash over Brexit. Labour, which had expected to profit from the Conservatives’ failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful Opposition leader of the past 40 years. Mrs May has been warned by her own ministers she must not now bow to Labor demands for a customs union with the EU ahead of fresh Brexit talks with Jeremy Corbyn or face further electoral disaster.”
As this blog has discussed previously, and for different reasons, the national parliament known as the House of Commons, has three times voted down May’s withdrawal agreement, described as a Brexit in Name Only or a surrender document that leaves the country trapped in the EU. There is widespread suspicion that Conservative in Name Only May could do an even worse deal with Corbyn to get any deal across the finish line as a way to prevent the May 23 European parliamentary elections from going forward.
In those elections, Farage’s Brexit Party is the odds-on favorite as this point. The U.K., which voted for Brexit on June 23, 2016, was supposed to officially exit the EU on March 29 in one of May’s many broken promises, but the deadline has now been extended out to October 31.
See also: Conservatives Jumping Ship to Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party According to Polls
From Breitbart London:
“It was long predicted that the local elections would be a bloodbath for the Tories after Theresa May alienated Leave voters by pursuing a deal with the EU which retains many aspects of EU membership and delayed Brexit twice, despite many promises she would not do so.The Labor opposition, however, does not appear to have benefited from Mrs May’s misfortune, as is typical in such elections, and has lost over 80 councillors itself — likely due to its own ambivalent stance on Brexit.”
Many if not all of the defeated Conservative local councilors were innocent bystanders in Theresa May’s capitulation to the EU in the negotiations and parliament’s subsequent failure to ratify the flawed deal.
Opinion polling suggests that British public favors a no-deal Brexit which would trigger World Trade Organization rules. May and the Remainer-dominated parliament have ruled that out, however.
“With European Elections now appearing to be inevitable, 23rd May could see the establishment given another bloody nose,” Westmonster added.
Added the Express:
“Anger is growing across Britain amid fears Prime Minister Theresa May could betray 17.4 million Leave voters and keep the UK in the Customs Union through a pact with Labor, as she desperately seeks to force a deal through Parliament. The feared alternative is a second referendum, which Mr Farage said would be a ‘total insult’ to the five million Labor supporters who voted Leave.”
Check back for updates.
[Featured image credit: Neri Vill/Pixabay]